Last week the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, along with five legal services organizations that do disabilities rights advocacy, received a record $2.6 million in cy pres funds left over from a class action in the Lonestar State. The class action suit itself was a disabilities rights case; plaintiffs argued that a requirement that disabled Texans pay for their own blue disability parking cards – the kinds that are displayed by drivers when they park – violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

For those law students wondering about how much cy pres awards help the civil legal services community, the answer is that they can be tremendous boons in terms of allowing organizations to shore up or to expand their services – which may include hiring new lawyers (hint, hint). On the other hand, cy pres awards are unpredictable, and thus can not be relied upon as consistent revenue streams. We’ve covered some past instances of cy pres awards benefiting legal services providers, including this recent development in Maryland, and a cy pres award in California.